Mama E – “My birth story is the opposite of everything I thought it would be. I had a 21 hour, heavily medical labour yet it remains one of the most positive experiences of my life thanks to hypnobirthing. 

Hi Claire,

Here is my positive hypnobirthing birth story, I hope it can be of some use for the lovely yoga ladies;

My birth story is the opposite of everything I thought it would be. I had a 21 hour, heavily medical labour yet it remains one of the most positive experiences of my life thanks to hypnobirthing. It was the 25th September, two days after my estimated due date. I woke at 3.30am to mild cramping so I decided to go downstairs, sit with our hamster and have some tea and toast. Over the next hour or so, the sensations intensified so I began timing them, they were happening every 5 minutes fairly quickly and were increasing to around 45 seconds in length. 

After a couple of hours lying in bed and relaxing, I woke my husband around 7am and asked him to call the hospital to let them know what was happening. I had always planned on a water birth in MLU but poor health in the last few weeks of pregnancy meant I was now consultant led and heading into an environment I was relatively unprepared for. 

Until this point I had been up-breathing through my surges and using a tens machine for comfort, and I was happy to continue with this for as long as possible. The hospital were supportive and recommended I stayed at home for as long I felt comfortable before heading in. Following a further very relaxed three hours at home whilst listening to a playlist and lying together on our bed, we headed in to the ward to check on my progress.

On my arrival, the midwife explained that I would probably be sent home because I was unlikely to be in labour with how I was presenting. When I arrived, I was chatty, focused on my visualisations and breathing techniques and comfortable sitting in a cross legged pose in the middle of the bed. 

I was checked and the midwife was surprised to find that I was 5-6cm dilated already with a ‘paper-thin’ cervix. So much for needing to be unable to speak to be in established labour! Due to my high blood pressure, I now had to be constantly monitored and unable to get off the bed for the active labour I’d imagined. 

We decided to make the most of the situation we’d been handed by turning down the lights in the room, sniffing the lavender oils I’d collected and continuing to focus on my breathing. We asked for a quiet environment and even though I wasn’t able to be left to labour alone, the midwives on shift sat quietly next to my bed and carried on with their own work.

Over the next 15 hours, lots of medical interventions were required for the safety of both me and my baby but throughout the process, I made informed decisions, was able to stay comfortable and spend special moments with my husband focusing on the techniques we had learnt during our hypnobirthing course. 

On the 26th of September at 12.42am, our lovely little girl was born. She is absolutely beautiful and we are both very much in love.

What I learnt from my labour experience was that even though your birth plan may need to be shredded when the time comes, you will always have your inner calm, your breath and your own decision making tools to support you through a pretty amazing experience. Good luck ladies!

Thank you for all your help,